Human trials offer hope those with paralysis will walk again

InVivo Therapeutics develops new technology

A device developed by a Cambridge company could one day help those faced with paralysis to walk again.

It's hard to believe that 19 years ago an accident left Frank Reynolds paralyzed.Luckily, it was temporary.

Today his company, Cambridge-based InVivo Therapeutics, has developed a device to give others with severe spinal cord injuries a chance to leave their wheelchairs behind.

"Say you had a four-lane highway, a major accident. All lanes are blocked. That's what happens with a spinal cord injury. They might not be able to move, they may not be able to feel. But they haven't gone through the 21-day scarring process. So we want to get in and open up some of those lanes and allow the spinal cord to reorganize itself," said Reynolds.

In doing so, some of the spinal tissue regenerates. It's done with a device called scaffolding, which is inserted directly into the spinal cord.

"Then, the tissue that hasn't scarred yet has something to hold on to. It's literally like holding on to a life preserver to cells out there that are about to get washed away," he said.

The scaffolding has shown excellent results in injured monkeys. A video shows a monkey dragging his leg at the beginning of the study. Five weeks after treatment, he is fully recovered.

Now, the FDA has approved the scaffolding for human trials.

"Our human central nervous system is much more advanced than monkeys. But it's 99 percent similar. We think humans will recover faster," said Reynolds.

Depending on the extent of the injury, one of four scaffolds will be inserted in the spinal cord. It takes all of a minute.

Walking away from a wheelchair is the ultimate goal. But Reynolds said regaining any function can change a person's quality of life dramatically.

"If we can get someone to move a finger, a toe, anything that would help them control the environment would be helpful."

All 44 monkeys involved in the trial are fully recovered from paralysis.

The human trials will begin in a matter of months.

Five patients will participate in the first trial, some of them at Mass General Hospital.

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